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Some 35 years ago, Steve McQueen’s acting and motorsport careers were hitting a double apex. He was one of the world’s most popular–and well paid–actors. He’d recently completed the now-seminal “Bullitt,” and he was finally in production on what he hoped would be the ultimate racing movie, “Le Mans.”

In preparation for his driving scenes in the film (which he starred in and co-produced), McQueen co-drove the 1970 Sebring 12-hour endurance race with Peter Revson in an outclassed-but-reliable Porsche 908. With his foot in a cast. And they darn near won the thing. Only a flying Mario Andretti, in a faster Ferrari 512, kept them from victory.

Like contemporaries James Garner and Paul Newman, McQueen had natural talent and considerable ambition. He may never have been an F1 world champion, but he would’ve enjoyed a successful career as a professional road racer had he chosen to do so. Just watch the “Bullitt” chase scene again, and you’ll understand–although a stunt driver executed the toughest segments. While “Le Mans” endured numerous production problems, it set new realism standards for motorsport cinematography.

McQueen also was an impressive motorcycle rider. Action scenes from “The Great Escape” and the cult flick “On Any Sunday” live as testimony. Steve McQueen passed away 25 years ago this fall, at just 50–decades short of the potential in life he would’ve certainly achieved.

Coverage June 1971This month’s issue features an article that relates to a Steve McQueen movie and the introduction of a new Mercedes-Benz. So did MT June 1971. We carried an expose about the making of “Le Mans”–which we dubbed “the best racing film ever produced”–and the cover story described the newest in what has now become a long line of SL roadsters. Both were fantastic for their time and are classics today. We also interviewed NASCAR’s golden boy, Fred Lorenzen.